Italian-American Restaurants in America (where are the best?)

[Joe H]

I have been fortunate over the past 30+ years to eat a lot of Italian American food around the U. S. I have also developed some opinions about where the best restaurants to experience this are located. But, for several it has been a few years since I've visited; for others a chef may have changed and there may be many more that I have not tried.

Where is the best that you have been to?

I would suggest the following for consideration and a relative benchmark: Chef Vola's in Atlantic City, Gargiuolo's in Coney Island (barbed wire at the top of the fences encircling the parking lot), Angelina's on Staten Island, Maria's in the North End of Boston, Wells Bros. in Racine, WI, Arcaro and Genelli's in Old Forge, PA (Scranton), Joe Mazillo's on the Hill in Providence, RI (ten years since I've been and I may have the wrong restaurant but there WAS one on the Hill with a lot of character...), another Hill in St. Louis-I think Dominick's but this has been ten years also, and last, Mosca's outside of New Orleans in Waggaman, LA. This last had some dishes worthy of a "last meal" including "shrimp Mosca" and platters of Lousiana hard shell crabs encrusted with garlic, oozing olive oil and worthy Italian bread to sop this all up.

[johnb]

Joe -- when were you last at Mosca? I ate there about 25 years ago and thought it was pretty good, but went back about 2 years ago and didn't have anything like the same experience. It wouldn't be on my last meal list.

I had takeout white pizza from Arcaro and Genelli a few years ago (their signature dish) and thought it was great, although not at all like what most people think of when they think pizza (I was on my way up to Syracuse from DC to visit my daughter so didn't have time for a more leasurely stop). It was clear they aren't a carryout sort of place but neither was I the first.

[Joe H]

Hi John! My last visit to Mosca's was four or five years ago as was Dominic's. Our last visit to NOLA, a year ago, included August and Cochon but we did not visit Mosca's. In the early '90's this was well worth the drive out from the Quarter or the twenty mile cab fare. But this is part of the reason for my post: what are the restaurants like today? If Mosca's has changed (and over so many years it probably has) it is a real loss. I absolutely loved this place years ago.

Arcaro and Gemelli's was a wonderful local tavern featuring red and white squared pizza slices; I thought the white was far superior to the "red." Good red sauce for pasta and the room had "character" that you cannot find in the D. C. area. We actually had the "Victory Pig" in Forty Fort and Arcaro and Gemelli's about four hours part-I still talk about this! In fact several of these have this-character-in common: Chef Vola's, Gargiuolo's, Wells Bros-there is a real feeling to the rooms that today I have wonderful memories of.

There was a time, with 200 or so days a year on the road, when I was current on a great many places. Today, fortunately, that is not the case. Still, I am curious if they have survived. Our last visit to Chef Vola's was the week before Christmas. I am nowhere near as current on some of the others.

[johnb]

With luck my assessment of Mosca's is wrong. If you get back anytime soon let us know the outcome.

I too made the stop at Victory Pig just after picking up my carryout from Arcaro and Gemelli -- it waited for me on the front seat while I was sitting at the VP counter wolfing down some of their's. It's an interesting little pizza hotbed in that small region.

Speaking of unusual pizza in that area of NE Pennsylvania, have you sampled the delight of Senape's pitza (yes, pitza) in Hazelton? Best bought cold at a local gas station and consumed that way over a few hours. It was another of my stops on my trips up to Syracuse.

[dcandohio]

I went to Mosca's last year. I lived near there there (between Westwego and Waggaman, if anyone cares) until I was 14.

The food is good, possibly great if you are not used to plentiful fresh seafood. But the famous dishes are really easy to recreate, heavily laden with fresh garlic. The history of the place makes it noteworthy, and part of the allure is that as much as New Orleans has changed, Mosca's is still difficult to access. It's close to nothing, on a godforsaken stretch of Highway 90. The parking lot is gravel, the building is plain and weather-worn, and the surrounding property is a swampy field. It feels like you yave gone to a different place and time. You sense the ghosts of mafiosos long dead. But those famous oysters Mosca are just fresh oysters in a thick bed of garlickly, seasoned breadcrumbs drenched in olive oil and blasted under a broiler. My Mom used to make them, easily as good as Mosca's.

[Steve R.]

In my opinion, there are several better Eyetalian-American places in NY than Gargiuolo's. Parkside (Corona, Queens) is high on my list but there are others as well. I'd go to Piccolo Angelo in Manhattan (Hudson and Jane), Queen in Bklyn and one of the famous Arthur Ave (Bronx) places before Gargiuolo's.

It's been a very long time since I visited St Louis (where I lived for 6 years in the '70s) but I remember Dominic's fondly and a place on the North Side called Kemoll's even more fondly. Kemoll's moved downtown many years ago and I've eaten in that location as well -- it remained my favorite. There was also Anthony's and Tony's (2 separate places, both downtown) but that goes back a long time as well. The Hill had lots of mid-range places & great toasted ravioli. And hero sandwiches.